Friday, October 30, 2009

Here's what Karen, a new quilter, has to say about her part of the world:

"I live in a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota but my blog is badlandsquilts because I grew up on a farm in southwestern North Dakota near the Badlands. I'm attaching two photos that were taken this year over the 4th of July weekend... the first shows my parents farm from quite a distance away and the second photo was taken in one of fields with wildflower in the foreground and the Rainy Buttes (Second highest buttes in ND) in the background. Both pictures I think are very accurate in capturing the peaceful beauty of this very rural area."

Karen's first selvage creation was a big label for this quilt (above). She added selvages to some leftover blocks, writing her name and the date along the bottom. Clever.

The beautiful landscapes above are near the Badlands. To see the appropriately named Badlands, visit Karen's blog at: http://www.badlandsquilts.blogspot.com/ It's scenic, but really bad if you're traveling cross-country on foot!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Amy in San Diego, California made this pretty selvage bag. That long red handle is a nice touch, and what a deal! Read her words below:

"I finally did something with some of my selvages. This is a cute bag pattern from the magazine, Better Homes and Gardens Quilts and More, Fall 2009. The original pattern was made with fat eighths. I cut muslin rectangles, 5 1/2 inches by 5 inches, and sewed my selvages to them to make the fabric rectangles used for the bag. The webbing for the handle (which is long, designed to be worn diagonally across the chest) came from a garage sale (5 yds for $1)! I think it came out pretty cute. Thanks for your inspiration!"

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Remember Paulette Carr, maker of the beautiful selvage & denim skirt? (See sidebar at right.) Now she's made a selvage purse. This is what she says about it:

"Here is the purse I did from selvage edges. It is a purse pattern that I designed myself a few months ago. It was a pretty simple design with an adjustable strap. It has sold pretty well in my local quilt shop. It worked very well with the selvage edges.....and my granddaughter loved her skirt!"

I can imagine that a purse like this would sell well in a quilt shop. You know everyone who sees it already loves fabric. (Well, except the UPS driver maybe.) Nice button, too.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Quilt Diva Julie of Memphis, TN made this gorgeous basket quilt called "Sing the Sun Down." She was inspired by the new book "Freddy and Gwen Collaborate Again" by Gwen Marston and Freddy Moran (reviewed here a few days ago). Look at those basket handles, and I love the colors. Oh, Julie - this is a beauty!

Monday, October 26, 2009

Martina Odenthal of Germany made this mini selvage quilt for fall. If you have been reading the Selvage blog for a while you will notice she included some of her tape-measure fabric in this quilt, just like she does in her other selvage creations, and there are many! I really like that little bird in the center, framed with the frayed red fabric. Nice job, Martina!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

This book just arrived and I'm savoring each word and picture. The authors have put together a dazzling collection of quilts that I really love. They are somewhat improvisational quilts that you can study and find lots of interesting surprises. The quilts are very creative interpretations of traditional quilts. Great variety, lots of inspiration, humor, color. This is my new favorite quilt book. (This is not an advertisement, per se, I just had to share my excitement with you.)

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Steffi from the northwest part of Germany sent this photo of the view from her sewing room. How charming. Here's what she says about it:

"This is the church of our village (the only church). It's one of the oldest in our region and dates back to the year 800. We can hear the bells, very often. They ring every 15 minutes to tell the time, and they ring before the services. (8 and 10 AM on sundays - that wakes us up often ;-)"

She started a blog just one month ago: http://steffiscandyquilts.blogspot.com/ If you are fond of 1930's style quilts, soft and beautiful, you will enjoy this blog! She also has a selvage project in the works (nice stars).

Friday, October 23, 2009

Have you visited Keepsake Quilting in Center Harbor, NH? It's a huge and gorgeous quilt shop I love to see when I visit my sister Eileen in nearby Holderness. They're also online at: http://www.keepsakequilting.com/default.aspx

This year I'm designing the blocks for the Empire Quilters Block of the Month. The October block was a 6 1/2 inch foundation covered with labels from clothing. We meet at the Fashion Institute in NYC so this seemed especially appropriate. Also, labels seem to be going out of style as the info is being printed right onto the fabric. Like selvages, labels might otherwise be "wasted."

These are the blocks on display at the meeting before the drawing. They were won by new member Maggie Gordon from the UK.

To see our Block of the Month ideas (and use any you like) visit: http://empirebom.blogspot.com/. Next month is the Atomic Wedgie block followed by the Amish Buggy block in December.

I was driving in Connecticut recently and was amazed to see this asymmetrical car. It's a Nissan Cube. I whipped out my handy camera and took this photo through the windshield to show you. I think I like it; it looks kind of European. Someone was thinking "out of the box."

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Kathy Wilcox of Burnet, Texas has created this nice big tote bag! I'd call that Texas-size for sure. Here's what she had to say about it:

"Tomorrow I go to the Houston International Quilt Festival for 3 wonderful days of looking and shopping, so I made a big selvage tote bag to carry every day (20" wide x 18" long x 6" bottom). I stitched the selvages to muslin and then fused the muslin to fusible fleece to give the bag some body and then quilted it all. Lining is the black polka dot fabric like the straps. It should be a conversation starter in Houston."

Kathy, tell us how the show went. Was the tote big enough? ;)

This is Kathy's second project, she's finished her blue zinger top and is ready to quilt it! Stay tuned!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Konda Luckau of Payson, Utah made her first selvage quilt using some pre-cut layer cake squares from "9 by Sanae." Her quilt is shown on a toddler size bed. Isn't it charming? I really like that busy block near the center of the quilt where all the selvages are red. It has a candy-cane look.

Konda is a long-time long armer, but now she is busy writing pattern books. Check out her blog and website to see her patterns and what she's up to now.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Kerry Katie Cakes in Alberta, Canada made this pretty selvage pot-holder for a swap. She made one big square then cut it into fourths and put it together like this. She recommends cutting your selvages wide so the project goes faster. Makes sense to me. Thanks, Kerry!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Just kidding! Lynn in Nebraska enjoys seeing where quilters live and she sent us this photo. Here's what she had to say:

"I attached a view of my world right now. It is harvest time in Nebraska and this photo is of my husband combining soy beans. I help in the field too during harvest time so don't get a chance to sew/quilt much until we are finished. I have a large collection of selvages now thanks to help from my friends but I am not sure what I want to make with them yet."

Sometimes I forget that our food doesn't originate in the grocery store. Thanks for that photo, Lynn. I hope you live near Lincoln so you can visit the new quilt museum at the University of Nebraska. Take a look at Lynn's blog at: http://nebraskaviews.blogspot.com/

Barbara in Florida sent us this photo of her backyard. She's about ready to start selvage quilting, so I couoldn't help that little pun. This looks like the perfect place to have a Selvage Blog convention/quilting retreat this winter!

"I really like seeing where other people live. Attached is a picture of sunrise through my backyard. I live in Rockledge, Fla which is just south of the Kennedy Space Center so I actually get to see the shuttle lift off's from my house. It's a great place to live and to quilt. I haven't done a selvage project yet but I've got one in mind and I'm collecting selvages as fast as I can. Thanks for always making your blog so much fun."

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Wendy in Chicago made this beautiful "woven-look" selvage wall quilt. It measures about 30" x 30." She also made the backing out of selvages and included them in the sleeve and the label as well. She calls it "Waste Not, Want Not." Wendy has more photos and talks about the making of this quilt on her blog:

Monday, October 12, 2009

On Saturday I went to Manhattan for the Empire Quilter's guild meeting. Now that I live in CT it takes me 3 hours traveling time each way, but it's worth it. I never know what I'll see in NYC, but I'm never disappointed.

Curiously, the best part of the day was after the meeting. I walked from the Fashion Institute to Grand Central Station with Empire member (and Selvage Blog reader) Diane Schneck. We had such a good visit talking about our first quilts, urban myths, Sept. 11, and I forgot what else.

At Grand Central we saw this exhibit of Italian Glass and leather shoes in honor of Columbus Day. I particularly liked the glass NYC taxi (above) and the stars and stripes figure (below). They even had a wine and cheese tasting area. Delicious. What a nice surprise.

The collection of ornaments on this tree was truly amazing.

Most of the Italian shoes in the photos below are each about 4 inches long! The variety is incredible. We had fun savoring the huge variety.

Take a close look at the pink shoe below.

What kind of footwear were we wearing? Comfortable sneekers for walking!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Jenny is a crafter at heart, and you can see many interesting projects on her blog: http://junkychicken.wordpress.com/. She made these flags (above) as a decoration for her wedding this summer. So festive! She also reports on knitting, wedding cake baking, papercrafts, and her first tatoo!

Nice work, Jenny! Best wedding wishes to you and Joe from quilters everywhere. :)

Friday, October 9, 2009

There is something special about my post office. Take a look in the window above; I think it's an apartment. Someone has taken it upon herself to dress this mannequin. The outfit changes frequently. One of my favorites was a wedding dress. I always check out this window and enjoy the exhibit. I think I'll leave a note the next time. I'll keep you posted.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Marky Kuba of Eau Claire, Wisconsin smiles every time she enters her quilt studio and sees her wonderful collection of 70 antique toy sewing machines. She bought them in the 1980's at tag sales and antique shops. One is just like the machine she had as a child. I wonder which one! Isn't this an amazing collection? I love how she arranged the colors. Thank you Marky for this photo. I'm inspired to start a little collection myself.

Red and White Quilt Exhibit

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Selvage Asterisk Block!

About Me

Quilt-making is my passion. I love the creative process. Why "Selvage Quilter?"
See my book: "Quilts from the Selvage Edge" published by American Quilter's Society. Be sure to visit my shop: www.Etsy.com/Shop/KarenGriskaQuilts.
My husband and I live in the beautiful hills of Litchfield, Connecticut. We have two grown sons: a photographer in NYC, and a retailer/artist in CT. Our DIL is studying to be a Physician's Assistant.
We enjoy hiking, photography, watching movies, eating pizza, and visiting with family.